Water-plantain (Family Alismataceae)

The water-plantains (Alismataceae) are a family of flowering plants, comprising 11 genera and between 85 and 95 species.

The family has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the greatest number of species in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Most of the species are herbaceous aquatic plants growing in marshes and ponds.

Several species, notably in Genus Sagittaria, have edible rhizomes, grown for both human food and animal fodder in southern and eastern Asia. They were eaten as food by the indigenous peoples of North America. Most have value as food for wildlife. Some are grown as ornamental plants in bog gardens, ponds and aquariums. Limnocharis flava's leaves and flower buds are eaten in Southeast Asia as "poor people's vegetable".

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